August Books
July 26, 2019
Notable new releases
Compiled by Sally Brewster
The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America, by Karen Abbott
We love great narrative nonfiction, and Abbott is in top form with her epic true crime story of the most successful bootlegger in American history and the murder that shocked the nation. In the early days of Prohibition, long before Al Capone became a household name, a German immigrant named George Remus quits practicing law and starts trafficking whiskey. Within two years he’s a multimillionaire and owns 35% of all the liquor in the U.S. The decision to send in one of the top investigators to look into Remus’ empire ends in murder and a bitter feud that reaches the highest levels of government.
Thirteen: The serial killer isn’t on trial. He’s on the jury, by Steve Cavanagh
What better way to influence the outcome of the trial of the century than to serve on its jury? Movie-star Bobby Solomon is charged with murdering his wife and his chief of security, both found naked in bed at Solomon’s Manhattan brownstone. High-powered attorney Rudy Carp takes the defense and persuades Eddie Flynn, con man turned lawyer, to assist him. When the movie studio pulls its financial support, Carp jumps ship but Flynn — believing his client innocent — stays the course. Flynn soon finds he’s up against the sophisticated serial killer known to the FBI as Dollar Bill for the distinctly marked bills he leaves by his victims. Dollar Bill’s unusual MO includes targeting those charged with the murders he commits himself.
Things You Save in A Fire, by Katherine Center
Cassie Hanwell is one of the few female firefighters in Texas. She’s seen her fair share of emergencies and is a total pro at other people’s tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to give up her whole life and move to Boston, Cassie suddenly has an emergency of her own to take care of. The old-school Boston firehouse is as different from Cassie’s old job as it could possibly be. Hazing, a lack of funding and poor facilities mean that the firemen aren’t exactly thrilled to have a “lady” on the crew — even one as competent and smart as Cassie. Except for the infatuation-inspiring rookie, who doesn’t seem to mind having Cassie around. But she can’t think about that, because love is girly, and it’s not her thing. And don’t forget the advice her old captain gave her: Never date firefighters.
NFL Century: The One-Hundred-Year Rise of America’s Greatest Sports League, by Joe Horrigan
The NFL has come a long way from its founding in Canton, Ohio, in 1920. In the hundred years since that fateful day, football has become America’s most popular and lucrative professional sport. The former scrappy upstart league that struggled to stay afloat has survived a host of challenges — the Great Depression and World War II, controversies and scandals, battles over labor rights and archives. Joe Horrigan is regarded as the foremost historian on professional football and has written a passionate, informative and educational book on the hundred-year anniversary of the game.
A Better Man: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel,
by Louise Penny
It’s a fitting way to end the month with the 15th installment of our literary love affair with Quebec’s most fascinating policeman. Louise Penny has thrilled millions of readers with her police procedurals, and Gamache, after his 9-month demotion and suspension, returns to the Surete du Quebec to help solve yet another murder. Penny derived inspiration from her years covering crime stories for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and from the line from “Herman Melville,” a poem by W.H. Auden: “Evil is unspectacular and always human.” SP
Sally Brewster is the proprietor of Park Road Books, located at 4139 Park Road. parkroadbooks.com
